Let’s look at carbon sequestration, the coal industry way – locked up with oxygen.

We collect, compress and pipe power station exhaust gas, carbon dioxide, to a deep underground repository and hope it will remain out of sight, out of mind.

Good points: We can leave it all to the ‘Lego’ men with their white hard hats and fixed smiles. They’ll drill lots of nice deep holes and lay kilometres of neat pipes and we can all carry on with business as usual.

Bad points: There is no way of knowing whether the carbon dioxide, a poisonous gas, will stay where it’s put. As time goes by, the likelihood of a blowout increases as we create an ever more flatulent planet. There are no options for secondary treatment of this deadly gas available to future generations and for them it will a lottery for life.

So why don’t we go for...

Carbon sequestration, the natural way – locked with hydrogen.

We use the power of the sun to chemically bond carbon and hydrogen into a safe product that provides a healthy and fertile environment.

Good points: It’s proven technology, being responsible for all life on Earth. We can eat it, light fires with it and make coffee tables out of it. There is no limit to the amount of carbon that can be converted via photosynthesis into carbohydrates. The difference between sand, for instance, and fertile soil rich in humus is in the amount of carbon stored within.

Bad points: None, but a bit more effort will be required from our governments.

It is just ludicrous, or at least criminally insane, to contemplate pumping carbon dioxide into the ground, where both the carbon and oxygen are wasted as well as being deadly, when there’s a simple constructive solution right under our noses.

As Peter Andrews, guru of Natural Sequence Farming says, “If it’s green and it’s growing, it’s sequestering carbon”. Peter’s work in the landscape demonstrates that a healthy daily water cycle improves farm productivity and gives the rural sector the opportunity to make a vital contribution towards carbon capture.

Dr Christine Jones, a well-respected groundcover and soils ecologist, has established the Australian Carbon Accreditation Scheme, the first incentive payment scheme for soil carbon in the world. Her tireless efforts to have soil carbon capture included on the climate change agenda are starting to take root.

There is, however, still the danger that governments in crisis will opt for policy by PowerPoint presentation. The CO2-CRC (mining industry) outfit have produced a highly polished pitch that makes underground gas storage seem very easy, fun even, with lots of bright diagrams of rock formations and deep drill holes.

A government looking for an easy way to avoid troubling the voters could be unduly susceptible to the rich guys and their tame boffins who offer a simple ‘in-house’ fix to a vexed political issue.

Sticking carbon dioxide into the ground is a very bad idea. As with the nuclear industry the message is: “Enjoy the power today and let the future worry about the consequences”.

Sorry guys.